Yanni Interview 1of2

Part 1 of an interview with Yanni on his music and the creative process. Hope you enjoy it! RR

Yanni Interview 2of2

Part two of an interview with Yanni concerning his music and the creative process. RR

Releasing the music in your head

A great little video about expressing musical ideas through computer technology. Tod Machover, co-developer of Guitar Hero, offers his group's plans to make musical expression accessible to all. I have to admit, I am not a great fan of Guitar Hero. I wish more youngsters would spend time with an actual guitar rather than a game controller. However, Dan Ellsey, a young man with cerebral palsy, bowled me over with his composition and performance on a specially designed music making system. The great side of music technology is when something meaningful like this is the result. Get out your hankies! RR

Vacation from the music business

I went on vacation for a few days last week. I just had to step away from the music business for a little while. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my version of the music business but it is a business after all. I refer to it as "my version" because there are as many ways to run a music business as there are musicians. My version seems to work for me but it does get to be a little too much every so often.

My music business consists of performance, composition, recording sales, booking, education, marketing, communications, research and development, instrument maintenance and repair, accounting, and lastly...personal physical, emotional and spiritual health maintenance and development. Whew! Now you know why I need to step away once in a while!

I am an indie (short for independent unsigned musical recording artist) which basically means that I do everything myself. I know some indies that farm out some of the work to managers and agents. It works for some of them but most of them are not nearly as busy as I am and they certainly don't have the profit margin that I have. I have become used to being somewhat of a control freak but I do know how to run my business. I probably wouldn't be successful running another artist's business but I am successful running mine!

My business revolves around the tourist economy in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I have been established in Santa Fe for over ten years. I don't have to depend on touring so I don't really tour too much. I used to tour but found that the time away from family, the cost of transportation and lodging as well as the negative effects on my health just didn't add up to a positive cash or energy flow. This is the main reason why I decided to focus on the tourist market here in Santa Fe. There are challenges to this type of musical performance but at least I get to go home to my wife after the gig! Did I mention that she went with me on vacation? Priceless! RR

HOPE (Visions of Whitefeather)

I really like this video. It blends animation, live action and indigenous musical forms to tell a story of prophecy and hope. The path that humanity has taken has led us and the earth to great troubles. There is hope...the hope that all people can see that we are all related to one another and that we all need each other. Love for the Creator's creation and therefore for one another is The Way. It's not too late! RR

How it feels to have a stroke

This video is thought provoking. The presenter is a brain researcher and she describes the sensations that accompanied her stroke episode. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another. It made me wonder what I am actually doing when I perform music. RR

My heritage

Some fans have asked me for more information concerning my heritage. I am Tewa and Mestizo (mixed blood) on my Father's side and Spanish Colonial on my Mother's side. My genealogical research has documented our oral tradition that my Dad's patrilineal line originated in San Ildefonso Pueblo (Tewa) and migrated from northern New Mexico to southern Colorado sometime during the 1870's. My Mother's people also migrated about that time. Many people from northern New Mexico migrated to the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado during that period because of land base issues and epidemic disease. The families went on to mix with other Mestizos and Spanish Colonial descendants. I was born in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and spent my formative years in the village of San Luis, Colorado which is north of Taos, New Mexico.

In the year 1598, my Spanish ancestors came to the land of what is now known as northern New Mexico. My Tewa ancestors had already been there for millennia. I am a Mestizo, meaning a person of mixed ancestry. Raised to be proud of both sides of my heritage, I chose to embrace the beauty and sensitivity that comes from accepting The Creator's gift of a unique life experience. To deny my heritage would be to deny my Creator's gift. However, just as my ancestors were challenged by their coexistence, my generation has survived by adapting to life in a changing world. In the process, many connections to the past have been lost. Much has been forgotten.

It is a fact of my life that I am neither "puro Indio" nor "puro Espanol". I am a Mestizo whose destiny is tied to the 400 year old drama played out on the stage that is the land of my people. I am honored and humbled that my Creator would inspire me to express my heritage in a way that allows me to make contact with my ancestors, both Indian and Spanish. I pray that I can give honor to all the generations of my Grandfathers and Grandmothers. They helped to form me into the person that I am today, and for that I am extremely grateful. RR

Do schools today kill creativity?

This video is a must see. How can we as a society help people realize their Creator given talents? Is there a moral imperative regarding the nurturing of talent? Is our education system addressing these concerns? Sir Ken Robinson gives a fascinating talk on these questions. RR

Flute circle controversies

I have been reading emails from Native American Flute (NAF) players and makers concerning a flute circle that is experiencing power struggles and an attempted takeover of the organization. Even lawyers are involved. All of this is truly unfortunate. It is a sad reality that not everyone out there that is playing NAF has the best of intentions. I have met some truly wonderful, loving people who play the NAF and I have also met some that make me question the role that it plays in their lives. This is really nothing new. One of my friends was essentially booted out of the flute circle that she founded and spent much of her time nurturing because other members did not like the way she tried to keep the commercial motive separate from the circle's more educational and philanthropic mission. A sad state of affairs. More often than not, I find friction in circles coming down to either the power motive or the profit motive or a mixture of the two.

NAF can be a life changing instrument. I know it has changed mine in very profound ways that have all been good. I say that because I am happy and the people around me all seem to have very good feelings toward me because of my flute way and the way I walk the straight road. I am sure many NAF players can attest to its positive influence in their lives. If some some players are honest with themselves, they might have to admit that they use the flute rather than the flute using them! That is where folks can get into trouble. As a good teacher once said, "Repent, walk the straight road!". It's not too late. May the flute use us for good in our lives and the live's of others. The Creator of all things wants to make us a hollow bone so that He may play a good song with us. The flute and the drum are great gifts to us. We have to respect them and each other. My two cents... RR

Business and creativity

My apologies for not posting much these past few weeks. I have been working on my taxes and it tends to take me away from more creative endeavors. I have been doing my own accounting for many years. I suppose I could hire an accountant to do it for me, but I find that I have a better understanding of my business when I do it myself. It also helps me to track deductions more efficiently.

Most musicians shy away from accounting for their business because they just don't have the mindset for it. Math and accounting principles are the least of their interests. I must admit that I don't get a big thrill taking care of these task either, but I find it to be a necessary skill in running a business. I can see what costs are beneficial and which aren't. For instance, I recently paused my Google Adwords account because I found that the cost didn't really benefit my business. The cost of the account was as much as any business revenue it was bringing in. I was essentially selling CDs to benefit Google stock holders! I have sold many more CDs with my other low cost marketing efforts (Myspace and YouTube) and I don't have to pay Google Adwords fees anymore.

In the 'old days', Google Adwords was a good buy because competition for choice search key words was not as great and so the key word bids were lower. Now, bids are exorbitantly high and it just doesn't make good business sense for me anymore. My research has shown me that other small businesses such as mine have had similar experiences and now Google is reporting lower revenue and profit. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Balancing my creative energies with 'mundane' tasks such as accounting is a challenge for me. The flip side would be for me to ignore these vital tasks but my business would suffer. My experience has been that when my business suffers, my creativity suffers because my mind is preoccupied with my suffering business. I just have to bite the bullet and pay attention to all the necessary aspects of a creativity based business. RR